*** The Pac-12 Hotline newsletter is published each Monday-Wednesday-Friday during the college sports season and twice-a-week in the summer. (Sign up here for a free subscription.) This edition, from Feb. 26, has been made available in archived form.

CEO Roll Call

We watched every minute of Colorado’s news conference introducing Karl Dorrell as the 27th head coach in program history.

As the hour-long broadcast unfolded, it was clear that a connection to the program was the driving force in athletic director Rick George’s search. He had indicated as much prior to the process, but George’s remarks Monday doubled down on that point.

George referenced the CU ‘family’ and a ‘passion for’ or ‘commitment to’ the program a half-dozen times in remarks that lasted just five minutes.

Of course, spinning positively is what introductory news conferences are all about, but George’s passion for Dorrell’s passion was clearly sincere.

Also, we couldn’t help but notice that George wasn’t the first speaker.

Chancellor Phil DiStefano opened the proceedings and spoke like a boss who gets it:

“As I’ve noted before, a successful football program raises the profile of the university as a whole, elevating the visibility of all of our achievements.”

And that got us thinking …

One indicator of a university president/chancellor’s commitment to the new football coach — and the football program in general — is attendance at the introductory news conference.

Since the end of the 2017 season, there have been nine press conferences to introduce football coaches across the Pac-12.

Washington’s Jimmy Lake
When: Dec. ’19
CEO status: President Ana Mari Cauce did not attend, but UW’s event was as much about Chris Petersen explaining his exit as about Lake’s promotion. It wasn’t a traditional introductory news conference like all the others listed here. We give Cauce a pass.

The football coach, to a greater extent than anyone else — including the president/chancellor — is the public face of the university.

It makes sense for the bosses to participate in the welcoming event. — Jon Wilner.

Hot off the Hotline

• The NFL Scouting Combine is underway, with on-field drills beginning Thursday. We’re intrigued by a handful of Pac-12 participants, from Eason and Herbert to Weaver and Pittman (and a few more).

• UCLA’s hunt for an athletic director is ramping up, with the search firm reaching out to a wide range of candidates. We have names and more, including background info on the firm, WittKieffer, that could be cause for mild concern among UCLA constituents.

• Our look-ahead series rolls on with projections for the 2020 division races. We have clarity atop the North with Oregon and Cal and atop the South with USC and ASU — but from there it gets murky.

• Washington athletic director Jen Cohen spoke recently about the recruiting/resource challenges facing the Pac-12. We published highlights from her interview with The Athletic and much more in the Feb. 21 newsletter. Previous editions are available in archived form.

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Huddle Up

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• Will the Dorrell hire cost Colorado the services of top assistant Darrin Chiaverini? The Post’s Mark Kiszla: “When asked if Chiaverini would be retained on his coaching staff, Dorrell was uncertain if the two men could reach an agreement, despite a shared CU history that goes all the way back to the happy time when Dorrell served as offensive coordinator and Chev played wide receiver for the Buffs during the 1990s.”

• Dorrell and his wife built their retirement home in Colorado while he was an assistant with the Dolphins; that helped convince the Buffaloes that he was the right man for the job.

• No Pac-12 team is better represented at the NFL Combine than Utah, which has nine participants — all going through the most important interview of their lives.

• USC receiver Michael Pittman is trying to stand out within a loaded position group in Indianapolis.

• Utes cornerback Jaylon Johnson reportedly had a lorn labrum, and played through it.

• Two unnamed NFL GMs thought Jacob Eason should have stayed in school. But Eason “felt like I maximized what I was going to be able to do in terms of school and college.”

• Oregon receiver Juwan Johnson has the size to play tight end in the NFL, and the open-minded approach.

• The conference announced last summer that it would participate in a bowl game in Los Angeles (against the Mountain West). Additional details were made public today.

Legal Affairs

• Is the NCAA’s dramatic shift in approach to transfers part of a calculated calculation on the debate over athlete compensation via name, image and likeness? Writes Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger: “While the proposal is the latest in a long line of NCAA policy changes geared toward players’ rights, the timing suggests it may be a deliberate maneuver, possibly a concession, as part of the NCAA’s ongoing NIL battle here on Capitol Hill.” The NCAA wouldn’t do anything calculated, would it?

On the Hardwood

• It was until UCLA coach Mick Cronin “started calling guys out, got really personal” that the Bruins reponded, writes the LAT’s Ben Bolch. And goodness, have they responded.

• The UCLA-Arizona State showdown on Thursday is on the Pac-12 Networks, which is good for the Pac-12 Networks but not so hot for many fans.

Jon Wilner has been covering college sports for decades and is an AP top-25 football and basketball voter as well as a Heisman Trophy voter. He was named Beat Writer of the Year in 2013 by the Football Writers Association of America for his coverage of the Pac-12, won first place for feature writing in 2016 in the Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest and is a five-time APSE honoree.

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